Title | Fluid-fluid displacement in mixed-wet porous media |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2023 |
Authors | Irannezhad, A, Primkulov, BK, Juanes, R, Zhao, B |
Journal | Phys. Rev. Fluids |
Volume | 8 |
Pagination | L012301 |
Date Published | Jan |
Abstract | It is well known that wettability exerts fundamental control over multiphase flow in porous media, which has been extensively studied in uniform-wet porous media. In contrast, multiphase flow in porous media with heterogeneous wettability (i.e., mixed-wet) is less well understood, despite its common occurrence. Here, we study the displacement of silicone oil by water in a mostly oil-wet porous media patterned with discrete water-wet clusters that have precisely controlled wettability. Surprisingly, the macroscopic displacement pattern varies dramatically depending on the details of wettability alteration—the invading water preferentially fills strongly water-wet clusters but encircles weakly water-wet clusters instead, resulting in significant trapping of the defending oil. We explain this counterintuitive observation with pore-scale simulations, which reveal that the fluid-fluid interfaces at mixed-wet pores resemble an S-shaped saddle with mean curvatures close to zero. We show that incorporation of the capillary entry pressures at mixed-wet pores into a dynamic pore-network model reproduces the experiments. Our work demonstrates the complex nature of wettability control in mixed-wet porous media, and it presents experimental and numerical platforms upon which further insights can be drawn. |
URL | https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.8.L012301 |
DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.8.L012301 |